Board games are well known to the public generally. The game of Monopoly .TM., for example, is very popular. Some known games combine a randomizing device to determine the move of each player, a confined path on the board for movement, and elements of chance rewards or penalties, with a goal each player tries to attain to become the winner. These types of games can be characterized as "strategy" type games in that a player's skill in making decisions during the course of the game plays a predominate role in determining the winner.
In contrast to the "strategy" games, some other board games involve little decision making by the players. The winner of these games is determined predominately by the luck of the player in "throwing the die" which advances the player's token. These types of games may be called "chance" games.
Geographical puzzle games, of the "chance" type, are also known. They consist of a map of a chosen geographical area and puzzle pieces which duplicate that area. The players try to position various pieces of the puzzle over the proper places on the map to complete the puzzle. These games have the added feature of teaching a player some geography while playing a simple type of game.
Applicant's game is unique in that it combines the elements of strategy and chance into a travel game played on a map type board where the puzzle pieces placed in position on the board during the course of the game define the playing area. This new game is entertaining and has the added benefit of teaching the players the geography of any chosen area.
Although applicant's game utilizes a flat map board in the preferred embodiment, a non-planar surface, including a sphere, could be used to define a chosen geographic area, such as the Earth or other planets.
While the game is easily learned, there are several levels of decision making combined with random happenings which insure numerous possibilities for the course of the game to follow. These features make the game interesting to play and require a certain degree of concentration in either learning or playing.
The object of the game is to accumulate the most money during the course of the game. A player makes money by arriving at his "destination" or by drawing one of the reward cards which pays money. For a player to reach a "destination", he must begin at a "start" location and successfully negotiate the distance between. The "start" and "destination" locations are randomly chosen. The length of a player's move is randomly chosen, for example, by a number, a reward card or a penalty card. The path traveled between "start" and "destination" is decided by the player, subject to some restrictions in the rules. During a trip a player is subject to being "bumped" by another player, which returns him to his "start." A penalty or reward card may detour a player.
A player pays out money by paying travel fees for each border he crosses during his trip and for certain of the penalty cards. The amount of the travel fees depends upon both the mode of travel and the number of borders crossed.
Some penalty cards require the player to pay out money, unless the player has purchased optional "insurance" for this trip. The amount paid for insurance varies with the mode of travel.
When a player reaches his "destination", that location becomes his "start" and he randomly selects another "destination." The game ends when the last puzzle piece is placed in position on the map and the players arrive at their last "destination." The money is then counted and the richest player wins the game.